Testimony

This past week, actually, the past couple of weeks have strengthened my testimony so much and I just have to share it somehow right now!  A week ago today, I went to the Logan temple to do baptisms for the dead and it was the first time since August.  I still don't understand why on earth I didn't go sooner, since the temple has always been such a huge part of my life, but anyway, I also went again today - to try and get back in the habit of weekly temple attendance and I just have to say, I have not felt this calm, peaceful, strong, and sure of what I'm doing since I've come up to school!  I love the Gospel so much!  I know that my Heavenly Father lives and loves me and knows exactly who I am, I know that Jesus is the Christ, He is my older brother and best friend.  I know that temples are the house of the Lord!  I know that the scriptures are the word of God and that the Spirit uses them to communicate.  I also know with a surety that this Gospel is the true Gospel, in its fullness!  I also know that prayer works - if we ask with a sincere heart, He does hear us and will answer us, even though it is in His time and it may not be the answer we expect or want, and the answer may not come in a way that we expect.  I know that the Atonement is so very real and that we can always repent and I know that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that he hopes and wishes that each of us will repent so we can return to live with him someday.  To finish, I just have to say again how much I LOVE this Gospel, my knowledge of the Gospel, and temples!  :)

We're All Human

So lately, I've found myself being incredibly hard on myself.  I am continually thinking about how I can become better and tend to focus more on my faults and weaknesses than my strengths.  However, when I think about other people, I notice only the positives and am always trying to point out their strengths and am trying to encourage them and tell them that their ideas/image of themselves isn't what the world sees.  I realized this weekend that when I was asked to write 5 things that I liked about someone I appreciate/admire/care about, the only problem that I had was confining their traits to only 5!  But I when I was asked to write down 5 things I like about myself, I struggled to write anything and I know I wasn't alone.  This has become a huge wake-up call to me.  As a society, we are constantly trying to better ourselves, which isn't bad in moderation, but once your 'faults' overwhelm your strengths, something is wrong.
We're constantly told not to judge others, and to recognize that people are just human afterall and that no one is perfect.  However, we hold ourselves to a standard of perfection, or near perfection.  What we need to recognize is that this is unattainable in this life.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyone shouldn't work out faults that they have.  I'm saying that people (myself included) need to stop focusing on their own faults and recognize how incredible they are!